Depending on the extent and length of the economic crisis, the International Labor Organization (ILO) predicts in its annual Global Employment Trends Report that global unemployment could increase from 33 million to 51 million people, up 18 million from 2007 figures. The ILO urges global governments to emphasize job creation in their fiscal stimulus packages and improve social protection systems for the unemployed and the employed. “We are now facing a global jobs crisis,” Juan Somavia, ILO director general says. “Progress in poverty reduction is unraveling, and middle classes worldwide are weakening. The political and security implications are daunting.” The ILO is a United Nations organization that has painted three 2009 global unemployment scenarios, ranging from bad to worst. “In all scenarios, there will be a global unemployment rate increase in 2009, particularly the developed economies,” the ILO report says. Its most optimistic scenario is based on the International Monetary Fund’s November 2008 world economic growth projection, which indicates that there would be a global unemployment rate at 6.1 percent. This scenario has 18 million more people unemployed by the end of 2009, in comparison to the end of 2007, with a global unemployment rate of 6.1 percent. Under the ILO’s second and third scenarios, the numbers could rise by 30 million or even 51 million, with a much slower economic recovery, with unemployment reaching higher levels in developed countries. Under the ILO’s third scenario, approximately 200 million workers could be pushed into extreme poverty with incomes as low as $1.25 a day; 140 million would be in Asia. “The world is facing an unprecedented crisis that calls for creative solutions,” the organization says. [Deutsche Presse-Agentur (Hamburg), 1/28/2009]

In its May 2009 Global Employment Trends Update, the United Nation’s International Labor Organization (ILO) revises its 2009 unemployment projections to levels ranging from 210 million to 239 million unemployed, with corresponding global unemployment rates of 6.5 and 7.4 percent respectively. The ILO specifically cautions that youth around the globe are hardest hit, and warns that the world was headed for an “impending labor crisis.” Describing the global unemployment crisis as “unprecedented,” ILO Director General Juan Somavia says that despite reports of a 2010 global economic recovery, “On average, it can take four to five years after a crisis starts for pre-crisis unemployment levels to be recuperated.” Somavia warns of political unrest should unemployment increase with little or no safety nets in place, and states that more workers are at risk of losing their jobs and falling into poverty. The report is released one week ahead of the June 3-19 Annual International Labor Conference in Geneva, Switzerland, where at least 10 heads of state, including US Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, France’s Nicolas Sarkozy, and Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, are expected to attend. Somavia also says that attendees will consider an emergency “global jobs pact” designed to promote a coordinated policy response to the global jobs crisis. “We are seeing an unprecedented increase in unemployment and the number of workers at risk of falling into poverty around the world this year,” he says. “To avoid a global social recession, we need a global jobs pact to address this crisis, and mitigate its effects on people. The choice is ours and the time to act is now.” [Thaindian News, 5/28/2009; International Labour Organisation, 5/28/2009]

With President Obama serving as chairman, the United Nations Security Council collectively approves Resolution 1887 to decrease withdrawals from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. The measure also decreases the opportunity for civilians to divert nuclear resources for the development of sophisticated weaponry. Although they are not specifically mentioned, it is believed that the resolution is to ensure compliance by countries such as North Korea and Iran, each of which has either banned inspectors or rigorously restricted their access. “The resolution is not about singling out nations,” Obama says. “We must demonstrate that international law is not an empty promise, and that treaties will be enforced.” Officials of the Obama administration say that the resolution will not become binding unless and until the Security Council takes steps to subject nuclear exports to supplementary restrictions. Britain’s Prime Minister Gordon Brown, as well as France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy, say that current sanctions against Iran and North Korea are inadequate, and ask the council for “far tougher sanctions” against Iran. Sarkozy says, “What I believe is that if we have the courage to affirm and impose sanctions on those who violate resolutions of the Security Council, we will be lending credibility to our commitment to a world with fewer nuclear weapons and ultimately with no nuclear weapons.” "A World without Nuclear Weapons" - During his opening speech, Obama describes his vision of “a world without nuclear weapons,” as reflected in the text of Resolution 1887. He says the resolution “revitalized” the Security Council’s commitment to a world without nuclear weapons, while reaffirming nuclear proliferation as a threat to global peace and security. “We harbor no illusions about the difficulty of attaining such a world,” Obama notes, “but there will also be days like today that push us forward—days that tell a different story.” Rare Security Council Session - Today’s session is unusual in that it is only the fifth time the Security Council has held a summit-level meeting since the founding of the United Nations in 1945. Obama, as chairman, makes history as the first US president to head a UN Security Council session. US and Russia Meet - The day before, Obama met with Russia’s President Dmitri Medvedev for the first time since he announced that former President George W. Bush’s Eastern Europe missile defense program would be replaced by a system that Moscow sees as less menacing. Although Obama administration officials publicly deny that the missile defense replacement decision was a result of quid pro quo, for the first time, Medvedev indicates that his country would be agreeable to repeated American requests for drastically tougher Iran sanctions, should the October nuclear talks scheduled with Iran fail. “I told His Excellency Mr. President that we believe we need to help Iran to take a right decision,” Medvedev says. “Sanctions rarely lead to productive results, but in some cases, sanctions are inevitable.” Dignitaries in Attendance - Among the dignitaries attending the session are former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, media mogul Ted Turner, and Queen Noor of Jordan; all three are active in efforts toward nuclear disarmament. [New York Times, 9/24/2009]

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